Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan leads an anniversary gathering in Washington DC called Justice or Else

[flowers]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/10/million-man-march-20-years-later-anniversary

African American men from around the US gathered on the National Mall in Washington on Saturday, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March and call for policing reforms and changes in black communities.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who led the original march, lead an anniversary gathering at the Capitol called the Justice or Else march.

“I plan to deliver an uncompromising message and call for the government of the United States to respond to our legitimate grievances,” Farrakhan said in a statement.

Attention has been focused on the deaths of unarmed African American men and boys since the shootings of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 in Florida and 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Deaths of unarmed black males at the hands of law enforcement officers have inspired protests under the “Black Lives Matter” title.

Family members of several men and women killed in such encounters with police encouraged the crowd to continue to speak out against police misconduct. The families asked the marchers not to forget the names of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland – who died in disputed circumstances in a Texas jail earlier this year, after a traffic stop – and not be silent about their deaths.

Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, said: “We will not continue to stand by and not say anything anymore.”

The original march, on 16 October 1995, brought hundreds of thousands to Washington to pledge to improve their lives, their families and their communities. Women, whites and other minorities were not invited then, but organizers said all were welcome on Saturday and that they expected to get hundreds of thousands of participants.

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I would have thought this would be all over MSM. Had to do a bing search to find it. Strange.

[Fishrrman]

[[ Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan leads an anniversary gathering in Washington DC called Justice or Else ]]

OK, Louie.

You're makin' us choose.

I choose "or else".

How's that?

[sinkspur]

I remember Calypso Louie's march on Washington in 1995, with his emphasis on "19" and his ranting and raving.   It was all about improving the lives of black men and their families.

Well, how'd that work out?  It didn't.  The pattern that's existed for 50 years continues, and it will always continue as long as two-parent households are a rarity in the minority community.  Hell, they're becoming a rarity in the white community.

It's always, ultimately, about a hand out, not a hand up.